Adapting to Climate Change in Bangladesh: the Role of Social Capital
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International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Volume 7, Issue 10, October 2020, PP 137-146 ISSN 2349-0373 (Print) & ISSN 2349-0381 (Online) https://doi.org/10.20431/2349-0381.0710017 www.arcjournals.org Adapting to Climate Change in Bangladesh: The Role of Social Capital Dr. Syed Ashrafur Rahman1*, Md. Amdadul Haque2 1Department of Political Studies, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh, Email:ashrafur- [email protected] 2Assistant Professor, Department of Political Studies, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh, E-mail:[email protected] *Corresponding Author: Dr. Syed Ashrafur Rahman, Department of Political Studies, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh, Email:ashrafur- [email protected] Abstract: Climate change is now a serious threat of the world and Bangladesh is one of the highest vulnerable countries of this threat. Climate change adaptation is a crucial matter in Bangladesh. Because of repeated catastrophes, shortage of infrastructure, huge population thickness, more economic and social inequalities are growing the burden of the country in the tackling present changing situation. Social capital can plays an important role to adaptation of climate change challenges of the world. This paper analyzed the role of social capital to adapting the climate change challenges in Bangladesh. This study collected data from both primary and secondary sources. Key Word: Climate Change Adaptation, Role of Social capital. 1. INTRODUCTION Bangladesh is one of the extremely gamble countries, highest accessible to climate change because of her geographic position, socio-economic system and reliance on natural resources. Bangladesh, a lower middle income, lowland country include over 230 rivers and 164,107,433 million people (Bangladesh Population 2020), per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of almost $ 2064 dollar (Dhaka Tribune, 11 August,2020), is familiar around the world one of the top tier of disaster affected countries and in danger to impacts of global heating and the climate change. Bangladesh is located in South Asia, connected to India on the west, north and east, to Myanmar in the south-east, and near the Bay of Bengal. The whole country is 147,570 sq.km comprised of mainly of low land (about 80 percent) have left maximum of the country vulnerable to flooding throughout the rainy season. A link of rivers of the eastern Himalayas, get hold sediments ahead their roads constitute a huge region of the territory in the basin. The weather of Bangladesh can mainly feature by intense heat, flash flood and very damp weather and trio seasons- the summer season, the rainy season and the winter season (The Daily Star, March 4, 2019). As stated in „Global climate risk index 2019, Bangladesh position seventh between the countries, severely damaged by outmost climate effects in 20 years since 1998. Only in 2018, 407 peoples died in Bangladesh because of highly climate relevant effects- flood, landslide, storms and cyclone. Rajnagar Upazila one of the highly climate vulnerable Upazila in Moulvi Bazar district. It has eight unions. Among the eight unions, Kamarchak union was severely affected by flash flood in 2017. More than 20,000 peoples of the Kamarchak union were directly affected by this flash flood. Hundreds of families took refuge in unused buildings, schools or moved to their relative houses after their villages were inundated of this flood. Social capital is an imperative tool that may help policymakers to implement more comprehensive and cohesive approach in adapting to climate change impacts. The adaptation process of the Kamarchak Union of Rajnagar Upazila, Moulvi Bazar in the light of social capital is an aptly timed study to measure the effect of how the social capital can help to facilitate the suffering communities of flood and other climatic disasters. 1.1. Objectives This study provided an abstract framework upon which one can determine how social capital can ease the transition of climate adaptation that societies faces. The main objectives were- International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Page | 137 Adapting to Climate Change in Bangladesh: The Role of Social Capital a. To analyze attributes of social capital in communities to adapt with climate issues. b. To identified the link between social capital and climate risk adaptation. 2. METHODOLOGY This study have been followed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data has been collected from both primary and secondary sources. Simple random sampling of survey methods has been used to collect data. Sample size was 55. Among the respondents 53 were mass people and 2 were officials of Water Development Board of Moulvibazar District. The quantitative data processed through editing to improve their quality and coding to convert them to the form of numerical codes representing attribute of variables. The study used Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software to get appropriate combination of data. For bi-variety analysis of the data, different tools of inference employed such as the correlation, t-test, and chi-square test to find the relationship among the variables regarding the objective of the research. 2.1. Social Capital The term „Social capital‟ came from the field of sociology and political science and initially came in to sight in Hanifan (1916) study of rural Schools community centers in the United States. The term Social Capital defines the different sources that people might have between their connections in families, societies and other social networks. Social capital link people together and support them creating networks as well as their near associate and next door neighbors. Social capital can call a “Social plaster,” which holds people along with in families and societies and provide them a feeling of belonging in an increasingly divided and uncertain planet. Social capital is allowed assist in bonding people all-organized and developing a felling of common identification, in bridging societies to the broader world through connection which enlarge their societies with others, and in networking people to favorable circumstances and framework of support. Social capital can be simply classified in a number of ways- as bonding social capital, bridging social capital and linking social capital (Woolcock, 2001). Bonding social capital, define by „heavy efforts‟; thick link framework and heavy, but regional belief like connection with family members; friends and next door neighbors; sharing same inhabited future. Bonding social capital mentions to the connections among of the same minded people, either the pillar of uniformity (Schuller, Baron, & Field, 2000). Bonding social capital point out the link among people in the same circumstances. It may be their nearest by resident, friends or alike household (Woolcock 2001: 13-4). Bonding social capital formed on locality. The connections can assist to supply social help by admitting people to access help, knowledge, and sentimental support. Bonding social capital may confirm a practical social task by supporting a crucial source of help to people who deteriorate from socio-economic deprivation either weak physical fitness. Bridging social capital defined by „soft efforts‟; limited thick, but additional inter-sect efforts between people from several ethnic; terrestrial; and professional history, but with same financial position and political power like connections with local leaders. Bridging social capital covers up far connections of those men, like as colleague and close friends (Woolcock 2001: 13-4). Bridging social capital outline social connections of interchange, frequent of alliance among people include mutual profits of objectives but different social integrity (Pelling and High 2005). The advantages of bridging social capital are wide-ranging and can expand capacity to get message, ability to get to entry to dominance either well position among the network, either capacity to bigger acknowledge additional favorable circumstances (Adler and Kwon 2002). Bridging social capital extending connections can create useable the assets and favorable circumstances that continue in one network to a unit of other (Stone and Hughes 2002). Linking social capital defined by soft bonds of threats and amity like, connection with the people who have too political and financial power, performing through institutional bureaucratic framework, like government officials but they are not local people. Linking social capital, that connect different people in different circumstances, like those who are completely exterior of the society, so allowing part of a group to connect a broad of assets apart from are obtainable in the society (Woodcock 2001: 13-4). Linking social capital includes social links among those in power which may be served to obtain wealth or power (Stone and Hughes 2002). Linking social capital is obviously at the heart to welfare, International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Page | 138 Adapting to Climate Change in Bangladesh: The Role of Social Capital particularly in third world countries and societies. Investigation has been showed that unless linking kinds of social capital might not be educate for social progress to appear (Flora 1998). Putnam stated that few model of social capital are extremely official, like a PTA (Parent-Teacher Association organization). Some types of social capital are unofficial, like the groups of